Returning Dawn
by OverGeneralization
Summary: Ash returns from Unova, only to find he's missing someone... Based on Owl City's "Vanilla Twilight"


**A/N: So, hi, again... Uh... A while ago, I wrote a songfic called "Returning Dawn (Songfic)", based on Owl City's "Vanilla Twilight" but I had to take that story down, because it's a songfic and we're not supposed to write songfics with lyrics, so I rewrote it, and expanded it. But meh. You probably want to get to the good stuff. Enjoy!**

**Oh, and it's still based on O****wl City's "Vanilla Twilight"**

**P.S.: Listen to the song as you read, or at least read the lyrics from somewhere; it makes the story much better!**

**P.P.S.: I _have_ upped their ages to fit the flow of the story.**

**Disclaimer: I own neither Pokémon nor "Vanilla Twilight" by Owl City.**

Alexa watched Ash as he stood on the bow of the ship. The young teen seemed different from when they'd set off from the Unova region. He'd barely battled or done any work. All he'd done was sleep, eat (albeit less than normal) and stand at the front of the boat. Neither she nor Cilan or Iris had seen him smile. She decided to walk up to him and confront him.

Ash stood facing the bow and spoke while Alexa was still behind him.

'Is there something you want Alexa?' His tone was monotonous, almost lifeless, which surprised Alexa. Where had all his energy gone?

'No, I just wanted to know-'

'If I'm OK? I'm fine, alright? I just... need some time alone, so can you leave me alone? Alright?' Not waiting for an answer, Ash dragged himself back to his cabin, leaving a shocked Alexa behind.

* * *

Ash sat in the backyard of his house in Pallet Town, gripping a picture of a certain blue-haired girl in his fist.

He'd come back from Unova a few weeks ago, and he'd felt as if something was missing. It took him a few weeks to realise that 'something' was Dawn. He'd been feeling lonely, even with Pikachu, Cilan, Iris, and later Alexa, but he'd shook off the feeling, constantly looking forward to new adventures in the region. He sighed, and rubbed the sleeping Pikachu's back absently.

He glanced down at his other hand, and sighed. He missed holding her hand, having her by him, her cheering him on, heck, even arguing with her. Glancing back again at the photo, he sighed again. It was a photo of when Dawn had visited him in Unova. He'd noticed that he'd been happier during that time, but he'd shook it off, thinking that it was just the fact that he had been reunited with one of his old friends again, but a few weeks after she left, he realised that he hadn't felt the same when Misty and May had come to visit him in Hoenn and Sinnoh.

Inside, Delia glanced worriedly out the window at her son. He hadn't been the same person as he was while he was in Sinnoh. Ash had barely spoken, eaten or slept since he'd come back. He hadn't trained either, and had flatly refused to go to Kalos with Alexa, much to everyone's surprise. The doorbell rang, and she stood up tiredly to answer it.

Ash looked up at the night sky and watched the stars. A small meteor shower begun and he smiled.

'_The Litleonoids,'_ he thought absently. The lights in the house flickered on behind him, but he took no notice, too engrossed in old memories.

There was the time in Alamos Town which was almost too painful to remember. He couldn't bear to think about what would have happened if Dawn had fallen from the balloon and the roof hadn't been there.

After the events there, Ash and Dawn (Brock had gone to get supplies) sat on a hill and watched the sunset. Not long after, a small meteor shower had filled the sky. Amongst the meteors was the Millennium Comet, which was directly linked to Jirachi, which they both had made a wish on. Ash sighed. Those had been good times.

'Ash?' A remarkably quiet, but familiar voice called out from behind him. Recognising the voice, Ash twisted his head around only to find…

'Dawn? Is it really you?' She was exactly as angelic as he remembered. Her hair flowed from her head, held back by only her two yellow hair clips, her hands clasped in front of her. Ash couldn't speak; he was too worried that this was just an illusion caused from too many sleepless nights. But Dawn nodded and smiles split both of their faces as the two ran at each other, Ash enveloping Dawn in a huge hug.

'I missed you, Ash,' Dawn spoke quietly before nuzzling her head into Ash's neck.

'I missed you too,' The two of them stood in silence, cuddling, until dawn arrived, and Ash picked up the courage to speak. 'I love you Dawn…' He felt Dawn's lips curl into a small smile on his neck. Then she spoke, muffled, but clearly enough for Ash to hear:

'I love you too.'

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment: I really need all the feedback I can get.**


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